'The Lady Boys of Bangkok', directed by Phillip and Carol Gandey, is a show of the like never seen before on the West End stage. The show features 20 or so Thai female impersonators who perform a showcase of songs, dance, and comedy with lavish costumes. You would not believe they are all boys if you had not been told before hand as they really do look like girls, which could be quite disturbing for some people!

The boys do not sing the songs, instead they mime them. This at first agitated me a little, but after a while I found miming worked very well. It was great listening to the songs with the original artists. Mind you, some of the miming left a lot to be desired. Not all the boys were good at it, which was a bit distracting at times.

This Cabaret show is far more entertaining than I expected it to be. The choice of songs are intelligently chosen to be as diverse as possible ranging from modern Western songs like 'I Will Survive', and 'I am What I Am' to old songs like ' My Way' as well as some Eastern songs. A wonderful variety of songs with each danced in its period. Some of the performances that stand out include their Spice Girls act in which they really do look like them!! I also loved their performance of 'Enough is Enough' which is very funny, particularly when the speed of the record was increased. There is a skilful performance of 'My Way', which was done with the singer dressed as a woman but as the song progresses the singer turns into a man. The traditional Eastern folk songs and dancing were also very good, I especially like the Hawaiian dancing.

These talented groups of young men perform competently and with confidence. The best of the boys was Sanya Kansanajuck, a chubby guy with great facial expressions that are hilarious.

'The Lady Boys of Bangkok' is an erotic extravaganza that will intrigue and entertain you. It is not everyone's cup of tea, but if you are open minded and love up-temp music performed in beautiful costumes then give yourself a treat and see this refreshing show.

(Darren Dalglish)